A richer, cream-loaded far breton — closer to a canelé in spirit than the lean classic. Baked in a single skillet long and slow for a deeply caramelized top and a custardy, tender interior. Sized for a 10¼-inch Field No. 8 cast iron skillet.

Ingredients

   
120g whole egg (~2 large + a little)
95g granulated sugar
2g sea salt
120g AP flour (or half cake, half plain)
350g heavy cream (45–47%)
250g milk
½ vanilla pod (or 8g vanilla extract)
18g dark rum
25g unsalted butter, melted
250g cherries, pitted, or rum-soaked prunes (optional)

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 10¼-inch cast iron skillet (Field No. 8) well.

  2. Whisk eggs, sugar, and salt until smooth and slightly pale. Sift in the flour and whisk until no lumps remain.

  3. Warm the cream, milk, and vanilla together until steaming (not boiling). Whisk slowly into the batter, then stir in the rum and melted butter until glossy and smooth.

  4. If using fruit, scatter it across the bottom of the buttered skillet. Pour the batter over (strain it first for the silkiest texture).

  5. Bake at 350°F for 70 minutes (check at 65, give it up to 75–80), until deeply golden-brown on top and just set with a faint wobble.

  6. Cool to room temperature in the pan. It firms as it cools. Serve warm or chilled.

Analysis

Total batter weight: 980g (cherries excluded)

Component Amount %
Structure solids (flour) 120g 12.2%
Fat (cream, butter, yolk) 193g 19.7%
Sugar (added + lactose) 118g 12.0%
Liquid (cream, milk, rum, egg water) 534g 54.5%
Egg/protein 13g 1.3%

Far closer to a canelé than to the classic far breton: flour is roughly half (12% vs ~22%) and fat is more than double (~20% vs ~9%), thanks to all that heavy cream. That’s why it bakes custardy and tender with a caramelized crust instead of dense and sliceable. Lower added sugar than the classic, yet it browns deeply — that comes from the long bake and high surface caramelization, not the sugar content.

Notes

  • The cream-rich cousin of our classic far breton. Roughly half the flour and double the fat, so it bakes custardy and tender with a canelé-like caramelized crust rather than dense and cakey.
  • The long bake (70–80 min total) is what builds the deep caramelized top — don’t rush it. The high cream content can take the color without drying out.
  • Cast iron is the better vessel here. A preheated, heat-retentive skillet browns the top and edges hard, recovering the caramelization the original gets from small molds. A cake tin works but bakes paler and softer-edged — if you use one, preheat a baking sheet under it and expect less crust. Use enameled or well-seasoned cast iron since the cream + rum (and cherries, if added) are mildly acidic and rich. See the Field No. 8 article.
  • Traditionally plain or with rum-soaked prunes; cherries are a summer option. Soak 200–250g pitted prunes in the rum plus a splash of warm tea for an hour, then use in place of the cherries.
  • Straining the batter before baking gives the smoothest, most custard-like crumb.
  • For the original individual format: bake in buttered muffin or canelé molds (this batter fills ~13–14), same 70–80 min, for maximum caramelized surface per piece.
  • Best the day it’s made, but holds 2 days refrigerated and slices cleanly cold.